[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 12, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACCESSIBILITY ACT OF 2023

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 104, S. 1189.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1189) to establish a pilot grant program to 
     improve recycling accessibility, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the Capito amendment at the 
desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be 
considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1691) was agreed to as follows:

                     (Purpose: To improve the bill)

       On page 1, line 5, strike ``2023'' and insert ``2024''.
       On page 7, strike lines 4 through 13 and insert the 
     following:
       (k) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
     project or program carried out by an eligible entity using 
     grant funds shall be not more than 95 percent.
       On page 8, line 8, strike ``2023 through 2027'' and insert 
     ``2025 through 2029''.

  The bill (S. 1189), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 1189

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Recycling Infrastructure and 
     Accessibility Act of 2024''.

     SEC. 2. RECYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE AND ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
       (2) Curbside recycling.--The term ``curbside recycling'' 
     means the process by which residential recyclable materials 
     are picked up curbside.
       (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
       (A) a State (as defined in section 1004 of the Solid Waste 
     Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903));
       (B) a unit of local government;
       (C) an Indian Tribe; and
       (D) a public-private partnership.
       (4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
       (5) Materials recovery facility.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``materials recovery facility'' 
     means a recycling facility where primarily residential 
     recyclables, which are diverted from disposal by a generator 
     and collected separately from municipal solid waste, are 
     mechanically or manually sorted into commodities for further 
     processing into specification-grade commodities for sale to 
     end users.
       (B) Exclusion.--The term ``materials recovery facility'' 
     does not include a solid waste management facility that may 
     process municipal solid waste to remove recyclable materials.
       (6) Pilot grant program.--The term ``pilot grant program'' 
     means the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Program 
     established under subsection (b).
       (7) Recyclable material.--The term ``recyclable material'' 
     means obsolete, previously used, off-specification, surplus, 
     or incidentally produced material for processing into a 
     specification-grade commodity for which a market exists.
       (8) Transfer station.--The term ``transfer station'' means 
     a facility that--
       (A) receives and consolidates recyclable material from 
     curbside recycling or drop-off facilities; and
       (B) loads the recyclable material onto tractor trailers, 
     railcars, or barges for transport to a distant materials 
     recovery facility or another recycling-related facility.
       (9) Underserved community.--The term ``underserved 
     community'' means a community, including an unincorporated 
     area, without access to full recycling services because--
       (A) transportation, distance, or other reasons render 
     utilization of available processing capacity at an existing 
     materials recovery facility cost prohibitive; or
       (B) the processing capacity of an existing materials 
     recovery facility is insufficient to manage the volume of 
     recyclable materials produced by that community.
       (b) Establishment.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a 
     pilot grant program, to be known as the ``Recycling 
     Infrastructure and Accessibility Program'', to award grants, 
     on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to improve 
     recycling accessibility in a community or communities within 
     the same geographic area.
       (c) Goal.--The goal of the pilot grant program is to fund 
     eligible projects that will significantly improve 
     accessibility to recycling systems through investments in 
     infrastructure in underserved communities through the use of 
     a hub-and-spoke model for recycling infrastructure 
     development.
       (d) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     the pilot grant program, an eligible entity shall submit to 
     the Administrator an application at such time, in such 
     manner, and containing such information as the Administrator 
     may require.
       (e) Considerations.--In selecting eligible entities to 
     receive a grant under the pilot grant program, the 
     Administrator shall consider--
       (1) whether the community or communities in which the 
     eligible entity is seeking to carry out a proposed project 
     has curbside recycling;
       (2) whether the proposed project of the eligible entity 
     will improve accessibility to recycling services in a single 
     underserved community or multiple underserved communities; 
     and
       (3) if the eligible entity is a public-private partnership, 
     the financial health of the private entity seeking to enter 
     into that public-private partnership.
       (f) Priority.--In selecting eligible entities to receive a 
     grant under the pilot grant program, the Administrator shall 
     give priority to eligible entities seeking to carry out a 
     proposed project in a community in which there is not more 
     than 1 materials recovery facility within a 75-mile radius of 
     that community.
       (g) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity awarded a grant under 
     the pilot grant program may use the grant funds for projects 
     to improve recycling accessibility in communities, including 
     in underserved communities, by--
       (1) increasing the number of transfer stations;
       (2) expanding curbside recycling collection programs where 
     appropriate; and
       (3) leveraging public-private partnerships to reduce the 
     costs associated with collecting and transporting recyclable 
     materials in underserved communities.
       (h) Prohibition on Use of Funds.--An eligible entity 
     awarded a grant under the pilot grant program may not use the 
     grant funds for projects relating to recycling education 
     programs.
       (i) Minimum and Maximum Grant Amount.--A grant awarded to 
     an eligible entity under the pilot grant program shall be in 
     an amount--
       (1) not less than $500,000; and
       (2) not more than $15,000,000.
       (j) Set-Aside.--The Administrator shall set aside not less 
     than 70 percent of the amounts made available to carry out 
     the pilot grant program for each fiscal year to award grants 
     to eligible entities to carry out a proposed project or 
     program in a single underserved community or multiple 
     underserved communities.
       (k) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
     project or program carried out by an eligible entity using 
     grant funds shall be not more than 95 percent.
       (l) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which 
     the first grant is awarded under the pilot grant program, the 
     Administrator shall submit to Congress a report describing 
     the implementation of the pilot grant program, which shall 
     include--
       (1) a list of eligible entities that have received a grant 
     under the pilot grant program;
       (2) the actions taken by each eligible entity that received 
     a grant under the pilot grant program to improve recycling 
     accessibility with grant funds; and
       (3) to the extent information is available, a description 
     of how grant funds received under the pilot grant program 
     improved recycling rates in each community in which a project 
     or program was carried out under the pilot grant program.
       (m) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Administrator to carry out the pilot grant program 
     $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, to 
     remain available until expended.
       (2) Administrative costs and technical assistance.--Of the 
     amounts made available under paragraph (1), the Administrator 
     may use up to 5 percent--
       (A) for administrative costs relating to carrying out the 
     pilot grant program; and
       (B) to provide technical assistance to eligible entities 
     applying for a grant under the pilot grant program.

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